Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
When Whisenhunt arrived as the new head coach in Arizona he avowed to deliver a "smart, tough and disciplined" brand of football.
What first impressed me about him was:
(1) his philosophy of creating competition at every position.
(2) his propensity to pull off the unexpected---such as try an on-side kick---which led me to believe that he understood how important seizing momentum is in a football game.
(3) pushing and challenging the star players like Larry Fitzgerald to take their games to a higher level.
(4) calling for a Christmas Day practice on the eve of the playoffs an in reaction to the New England debacle.
What I didn't understand about him was:
(5) how and why he felt the need to appoint Matt Leinart as the team's starting QB, in contrast to his competition at every position philosophy...when in fact, it was always a QB competition for Leinart.
(6) why it was taking so long to get Leinart comfortable in the offense to the point where he couldn't run a 2 minute drill.
(7) why he insisted on playing his mediocre at best offensive tackles on an island versus the best DEs---even after the tackles were being dominated to the point of costing the team a chance to win.
(8) why he kept and still keeps ignoring the needs of the defense.
(9) why his press conferences always left me feeling uninspired and even more frustrated that I was prior to watching.
Now that Whisenhunt is in his fifth year---here's what I have come to expect from Whisenhunt with regard to the aforementioned impressions and questions:
(1) Competitions for starting positions no longer exist---where once Whisenhunt would have the guts to bench Edgerrin James for rookie Tim Hightower---in the midst of this current 4 game slide, Whisenhunt tipped his hand once again for no changes by saying that "It's hard to make changes in season."
(2) No strategy Whisenunt musters up seems unexpected anymore and hasn't for a couple of years. It was no surprise to hear Vikings' CB Chris Cook say that they knew exactly what the Cardinals' plays would be---we watch these same plays and tendencies every week and it sure looks like a broken record, doesn't it? Do you ever get the sense that the Cardinals have conjured up a plan to attack the other team where it is most vulnerable? No---they just do their own dink and dunk thing and hope that the other team hasn't figured it out. As Whisenhunt said this week: "We are sticking with what we know works."
(3) Are any of the team's star players being pushed to perform at higher levels the way they were when Todd Haley was here? If anything the majority of the Cardinals' start players have regressed---including Fitzgerald, QB woes aside.
(4) If anything Whisenhunt is softer, not tougher on the team---nothing like that Christmas practice. To me it is still a total head scratcher that last year heading into the bye week with a UCFA rookie QB now going into his second NFL start that Whisenhunt bargained with the players to give them the whole week off if they beat the Saints. The Cardinals were 3-2 at the bye---good for 1st place in the NFC West---they came back from the bye to lose 7 straight (4 of which were at home).
(5) The Leinart charade remains one of the most disconcerting aspects of Whisenhunt's tenure here. Now--mind you---I never thought Leinart was a fit for Whisenhunt---but to appoint Leinart the starter in 3 of Whisenhunt's first 4 seasons and then throw him to the curb last year on the eve of the season was reckless (and seemed personal more than anything else)---especially in light of how vulnerable it left the team. It also did not speak well to how Whisenhunt handles his personnel---there is a strange distance he keeps---and put it this way, if he couldn't get along with Anquan Boldin, I mean, what does that say about Whisenhunt as a coach, let alone as a motivator of men?
Does Whisenhunt do anything for players' confidence or egos? I mean, anything? He even teetered on the edge of messing up the Warner situation---but, thank goodness, Warner didn't need Whisenhunt's vote of confidence because Warner believed so much in himself.
When Toto pulled open the screen---it was Kurt Warner standing at the controls, not Whisenhunt, wasn't it?
(6) Taking long for Leinart to feel comfortable---how about Kevin Kolb? He looks less comfortable and confident with each passing week. And, while we are at it, how come Stewart Bradley and O'Brien Schofield are so lost and uninspired? That falls on the head coach as well.
(7) In Whisehunt's first year we saw Seattle's DE John Kearney dominate an entire game for an easy Seattle win---and yet not even a half-time adjustment---no chips, no nothing. This past week we saw Jared Allen dominate the game for an easy Vikings' win---same story, different game. Nothing has changed----and every QB who has played for Whisenhunt in his 5 years here has taken a total beating---much of which could have been avoided....and who knows how many losses might have been wins. This past Monday night the Lions ran a two TE in slot formation to chip the DEs and thus to offer max protection on the deep TD pass to Calvin Johnson---think we would ever see that from a Whisenhunt coached offense?
(8) Ignoring the needs of the defense---when you don't have any edge pass rushers on the roster---and you draft a CB (who allowed for the QB trade involving the trade another 1st round CB---so this move catered to the offense as well), a RB (after drafting a first rounder two years previously), and a situational TE---with your first three picks in the draft, what does this say about the coach's priorities?
How about EVER calling a timeout for the defense? if ever the Cardinals needed one it was in the Giants' game when the Giants were suddenly reeling off 20 yard passes left and right. The worst part other than it being so incredibly easy for them was that no time was running off the clock, which was especially auspicious for a team that needed TWO scores to at least tie or go ahead.
What's completely clear at this point is that Whisenhunt has no perceivable understanding of momentum---and what it takes to get it---and especially what it takes to sustain it. Timeouts---are a coach's best friend for trying to change momentum and should be used accordingly.
As for the two minutes before each half---Whisenhunt is about as poor a game manager as there is and has proven it time and time again.
(9) Whiz's press conferences? First of all you can't believe a word he says. In a game where his team was egregiously out hustled, out-toughed and out-coached by an 0-4 team, his response is, "We are not making plays." LOFL, really.
Secondly---the man has zero charisma---to the point where it is even hard to grow a liking for the man---he's just so vanilla, so disingenuous, so boringly predictable. if fans find him boring, what do NFL players find him? The only thing they like about his is that he goes soft on them. Sure there are other HCs who are boring---BUT the great ones like Belichick at least have tricks up their sleeves on game day---and most importantly have their teams prepared.
Last year was one of the most gutless displays of coaching I have ever seen at any level. If a coach every looked like he wanted to sabotage his own team and the organization---Whisenhunt exemplified the part. What's worse, this year after all the "All-In" rhetoric from Michael Bidwill, nothing appears to be any different. Whisenhunt's listless offense is finally moving the ball---after not recording a single first down before the opponent has scored 28 points---and his reaction is to punt the ball back to a gassed defense inside the opponents' 50 on a 4th and 5. That says it all about Whisenhunt as a coach. He quits on his own team---he shows no confidence in them, so why should they show confidence in themselves?
The media is now goading Whisenhunt into confessing his own culpability and to giving him the opportunity to express how angry he is. They essentially are trying to fill in the voids in the coach that by now seem so conspicuously apparent. He is not the stuff that good coaches are made of---and in reality is nothing close to it.
After all, he's already told us in a more lucid and revealing moment last year---the embarrassing losses are easier to get over.
What first impressed me about him was:
(1) his philosophy of creating competition at every position.
(2) his propensity to pull off the unexpected---such as try an on-side kick---which led me to believe that he understood how important seizing momentum is in a football game.
(3) pushing and challenging the star players like Larry Fitzgerald to take their games to a higher level.
(4) calling for a Christmas Day practice on the eve of the playoffs an in reaction to the New England debacle.
What I didn't understand about him was:
(5) how and why he felt the need to appoint Matt Leinart as the team's starting QB, in contrast to his competition at every position philosophy...when in fact, it was always a QB competition for Leinart.
(6) why it was taking so long to get Leinart comfortable in the offense to the point where he couldn't run a 2 minute drill.
(7) why he insisted on playing his mediocre at best offensive tackles on an island versus the best DEs---even after the tackles were being dominated to the point of costing the team a chance to win.
(8) why he kept and still keeps ignoring the needs of the defense.
(9) why his press conferences always left me feeling uninspired and even more frustrated that I was prior to watching.
Now that Whisenhunt is in his fifth year---here's what I have come to expect from Whisenhunt with regard to the aforementioned impressions and questions:
(1) Competitions for starting positions no longer exist---where once Whisenhunt would have the guts to bench Edgerrin James for rookie Tim Hightower---in the midst of this current 4 game slide, Whisenhunt tipped his hand once again for no changes by saying that "It's hard to make changes in season."
(2) No strategy Whisenunt musters up seems unexpected anymore and hasn't for a couple of years. It was no surprise to hear Vikings' CB Chris Cook say that they knew exactly what the Cardinals' plays would be---we watch these same plays and tendencies every week and it sure looks like a broken record, doesn't it? Do you ever get the sense that the Cardinals have conjured up a plan to attack the other team where it is most vulnerable? No---they just do their own dink and dunk thing and hope that the other team hasn't figured it out. As Whisenhunt said this week: "We are sticking with what we know works."
(3) Are any of the team's star players being pushed to perform at higher levels the way they were when Todd Haley was here? If anything the majority of the Cardinals' start players have regressed---including Fitzgerald, QB woes aside.
(4) If anything Whisenhunt is softer, not tougher on the team---nothing like that Christmas practice. To me it is still a total head scratcher that last year heading into the bye week with a UCFA rookie QB now going into his second NFL start that Whisenhunt bargained with the players to give them the whole week off if they beat the Saints. The Cardinals were 3-2 at the bye---good for 1st place in the NFC West---they came back from the bye to lose 7 straight (4 of which were at home).
(5) The Leinart charade remains one of the most disconcerting aspects of Whisenhunt's tenure here. Now--mind you---I never thought Leinart was a fit for Whisenhunt---but to appoint Leinart the starter in 3 of Whisenhunt's first 4 seasons and then throw him to the curb last year on the eve of the season was reckless (and seemed personal more than anything else)---especially in light of how vulnerable it left the team. It also did not speak well to how Whisenhunt handles his personnel---there is a strange distance he keeps---and put it this way, if he couldn't get along with Anquan Boldin, I mean, what does that say about Whisenhunt as a coach, let alone as a motivator of men?
Does Whisenhunt do anything for players' confidence or egos? I mean, anything? He even teetered on the edge of messing up the Warner situation---but, thank goodness, Warner didn't need Whisenhunt's vote of confidence because Warner believed so much in himself.
When Toto pulled open the screen---it was Kurt Warner standing at the controls, not Whisenhunt, wasn't it?
(6) Taking long for Leinart to feel comfortable---how about Kevin Kolb? He looks less comfortable and confident with each passing week. And, while we are at it, how come Stewart Bradley and O'Brien Schofield are so lost and uninspired? That falls on the head coach as well.
(7) In Whisehunt's first year we saw Seattle's DE John Kearney dominate an entire game for an easy Seattle win---and yet not even a half-time adjustment---no chips, no nothing. This past week we saw Jared Allen dominate the game for an easy Vikings' win---same story, different game. Nothing has changed----and every QB who has played for Whisenhunt in his 5 years here has taken a total beating---much of which could have been avoided....and who knows how many losses might have been wins. This past Monday night the Lions ran a two TE in slot formation to chip the DEs and thus to offer max protection on the deep TD pass to Calvin Johnson---think we would ever see that from a Whisenhunt coached offense?
(8) Ignoring the needs of the defense---when you don't have any edge pass rushers on the roster---and you draft a CB (who allowed for the QB trade involving the trade another 1st round CB---so this move catered to the offense as well), a RB (after drafting a first rounder two years previously), and a situational TE---with your first three picks in the draft, what does this say about the coach's priorities?
How about EVER calling a timeout for the defense? if ever the Cardinals needed one it was in the Giants' game when the Giants were suddenly reeling off 20 yard passes left and right. The worst part other than it being so incredibly easy for them was that no time was running off the clock, which was especially auspicious for a team that needed TWO scores to at least tie or go ahead.
What's completely clear at this point is that Whisenhunt has no perceivable understanding of momentum---and what it takes to get it---and especially what it takes to sustain it. Timeouts---are a coach's best friend for trying to change momentum and should be used accordingly.
As for the two minutes before each half---Whisenhunt is about as poor a game manager as there is and has proven it time and time again.
(9) Whiz's press conferences? First of all you can't believe a word he says. In a game where his team was egregiously out hustled, out-toughed and out-coached by an 0-4 team, his response is, "We are not making plays." LOFL, really.
Secondly---the man has zero charisma---to the point where it is even hard to grow a liking for the man---he's just so vanilla, so disingenuous, so boringly predictable. if fans find him boring, what do NFL players find him? The only thing they like about his is that he goes soft on them. Sure there are other HCs who are boring---BUT the great ones like Belichick at least have tricks up their sleeves on game day---and most importantly have their teams prepared.
Last year was one of the most gutless displays of coaching I have ever seen at any level. If a coach every looked like he wanted to sabotage his own team and the organization---Whisenhunt exemplified the part. What's worse, this year after all the "All-In" rhetoric from Michael Bidwill, nothing appears to be any different. Whisenhunt's listless offense is finally moving the ball---after not recording a single first down before the opponent has scored 28 points---and his reaction is to punt the ball back to a gassed defense inside the opponents' 50 on a 4th and 5. That says it all about Whisenhunt as a coach. He quits on his own team---he shows no confidence in them, so why should they show confidence in themselves?
The media is now goading Whisenhunt into confessing his own culpability and to giving him the opportunity to express how angry he is. They essentially are trying to fill in the voids in the coach that by now seem so conspicuously apparent. He is not the stuff that good coaches are made of---and in reality is nothing close to it.
After all, he's already told us in a more lucid and revealing moment last year---the embarrassing losses are easier to get over.
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